Monday, October 30, 2006

I've always wanted to see Louisiana. Well I should be more specific, I love to travel and I've never seen the south and New Orleans has always had an appeal, not so much for Mardi Gras or girls-gone-wild debauchery but for its unique architecture, food and culture.

Andrew had work there and went down for a week. I comforted myself that it was, after all, a business trip so he wouldn't be doing much site-seeing, that he'd see the airport and the hotel and not much else, lots of meetings and all that, blah blah blah. Nice wife aren't I? The poor man works in a hermetically sealed office all day and I begrudge him a chance to do something more interesting.

That first evening he called and says that after the contract stuff was over they went walking around the French Quarter and down Canal Street, all the famous areas I've longed to visit. He reported that even after the damage from the hurricane it was beautiful and he was having a great time.

My only comfort in his absence was eating quiche, watching Audrey Hepburn movies and refusing to put on make-up or curl my hair. Sigh. I guess I'll just have live with New Orleans Square at Disneyland being the closest I've come to the Big Easy.

They went to Cafe du Monde and had beignets which must have been something because he bought a box of their beignet mix and danced around the room with it lovingly upon his return. I'm including pictures of the adventure because it may be the only time you see my husband attempting to roll dough. It was almost worth being left home.

He did surprisingly well and after working out the kinks produced several plates of respectable pastries whereupon six happy stomachs were fed therefrom said pastries (that's my tribute to my Litigating Gourmet). After growing up with a father whose cooking repertoire consisted of cold cereal and saltines topped with peanut butter and jelly, Andrew scored an overal 8.4 from our panel of judges but next time I'm going too.

As soon as I read New Orleans, I knew your hubbie was making beignet. I went on a cruise with my sister and her hubbie back in the '90s(I know, I was the 3rd wheel) and we stopped by New Orleans, and we went to the French Quarters and fell in love with the food! It's delish, and brought back 5 boxes of beignet, but it didn't turn out quite the same.

NOLA is one of my favorite places. You are right to want to go. The debauchery is for a younger crowd (although you may see some old folks trying to find their youth! Ewww.) if you ask me. But they have good beer, good food, great architecture, and unbelievably interesting cemeteries (sp). I hope you get to go.

My husband also has work down there! Wouldn't it be interesting if BOTH of our husbands had a business trip at the same time and we could all meet up? Or that may be just to close to stalking. Either way. ;)

LOL Every time my hubby has to go away for work, I'm all, "You get to have ALL the fun..." and he glares at me and tells me how fun it is NOT to be stuck in meetings at hotels and not SEE anything. He gets to go and not see anything in Montreal this week...lucky. :}